Rekik

[mr_nool]

I wonder if he's not too short to have a career as a central defender.

He seems to be very comfortable with the ball, and he has good technique, so left back should be a good position. I don't agree with Ted's post that he's a better footballer than Nasty, though. I think Nasty is on par with him. He's technical as well, and has great awareness and can pick a pass.

I don't think there's much in them in technical terms either, haven't seen as much of Rekik as Mr Boombastic though. I liked that bit of skill on the touchline where he kept the ball and used his strength and footwork to get away from one of their players - and received applause from the crowd for it. (I don't think his height is an issue in the slightest, by the way - I certainly dont get the impression that he's short)

He's about 6 ft but has a better jump & more body strength than Nastasic. Imo is a miles better footballer. Yet to be seen who will be the best defender. Both are very promising but neither are currently top 4 PL defenders.

He's taller than thought, then, although shorter than Nasty, Komps, Lescot and Kolo. And of course none of them are top 4 defenders. They're still kids. But I think both have the chance to develop into top 4 defenders, if we keep playing them (without throwing them into the deep end).

[Ted Hughes]

I wonder if he's not too short to have a career as a central defender.

He seems to be very comfortable with the ball, and he has good technique, so left back should be a good position. I don't agree with Ted's post that he's a better footballer than Nasty, though. I think Nasty is on par with him. He's technical as well, and has great awareness and can pick a pass.

I don't think there's much in them in technical terms either, haven't seen as much of Rekik as Mr Boombastic though. I liked that bit of skill on the touchline where he kept the ball and used his strength and footwork to get away from one of their players - and received applause from the crowd for it. (I don't think his height is an issue in the slightest, by the way - I certainly dont get the impression that he's short)

He's about 6 ft but has a better jump & more body strength than Nastasic. Imo is a miles better footballer. Yet to be seen who will be the best defender. Both are very promising but neither are currently top 4 PL defenders.

He's taller than thought, then, although shorter than Nasty, Komps, Lescot and Kolo. And of course none of them are top 4 defenders. They're still kids. But I think both have the chance to develop into top 4 defenders, if we keep playing them (without throwing them into the deep end).

Reading was the ideal game. No problem Bob picking them for games like that imo.

[mr_nool]

Totally agree on that. It's not Real away ...

[Esky]

Thrilled to see him starting a league game. Nastasic has been a revelation and Rekik looked equally comfortable. Hopefully he gets some more game time now that Kolarov is being pushed forward.

[getdressedmctavish]

He was playing right infront of me in the first half. Very calm and collected. a good touch, football brain and not intimidated by the blond brute. Kept finding myself saying" hey, I like this kid" inbetween "God, I feckin hate Bob", lol

[john68]

All players make mistakes during any game. Rekik made no more than anyone else. A reasonably safe game to give him a run out and I thought he handled it well.
Like Doug who I sat with during the game, I was bemused why quite obvious passing options to him were ignored. Maybe he had been told to keep it simple and others had been instructed to allow him to run through the game without too much pressure on his debut.

Just a thought.

[patrickblue]

I thought he did well, but then he wasn't really there.
Must be true, the greatest manager ever (or greatest drunk ever) said so here.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/engla ... ing-policy

He continued: "I can see Powell being a big surprise for us this season even though he is only 18. And that’s the difference between Manchester United and the rest – we can play 18-year-olds because it’s part of our history.

“It’s like a destiny for us. When a young player emerges, we play him – and that has never failed us. No other clubs can do that. City won’t do it. They definitely won’t play any youngsters who have come up through their system.

[Ted Hughes]

I thought he did well, but then he wasn't really there.
Must be true, the greatest manager ever (or greatest drunk ever) said so here.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/engla ... ing-policy

He continued: "I can see Powell being a big surprise for us this season even though he is only 18. And that’s the difference between Manchester United and the rest – we can play 18-year-olds because it’s part of our history.

“It’s like a destiny for us. When a young player emerges, we play him – and that has never failed us. No other clubs can do that. City won’t do it. They definitely won’t play any youngsters who have come up through their system.

When you consider that the old shite went out & signed Van Persie after that, it just shows what an absolute lying bastard he is.

Why people hang on his words, when half the time he is blatantly lying, contradicting himself or just being plain nasty, baffles me.

[Blue Since 76]

I thought he did well, but then he wasn't really there.
Must be true, the greatest manager ever (or greatest drunk ever) said so here.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/engla ... ing-policy

He continued: "I can see Powell being a big surprise for us this season even though he is only 18. And that’s the difference between Manchester United and the rest – we can play 18-year-olds because it’s part of our history.

“It’s like a destiny for us. When a young player emerges, we play him – and that has never failed us. No other clubs can do that. City won’t do it. They definitely won’t play any youngsters who have come up through their system.

Not in his lifetime anyway.

[carl_feedthegoat]

I thought he did well, but then he wasn't really there.
Must be true, the greatest manager ever (or greatest drunk ever) said so here.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/engla ... ing-policy

He continued: "I can see Powell being a big surprise for us this season even though he is only 18. And that’s the difference between Manchester United and the rest – we can play 18-year-olds because it’s part of our history.

“It’s like a destiny for us. When a young player emerges, we play him – and that has never failed us. No other clubs can do that. City won’t do it. They definitely won’t play any youngsters who have come up through their system.

When you consider that the old shite went out & signed Van Persie after that, it just shows what an absolute lying bastard he is.

Why people hang on his words, when half the time he is blatantly lying, contradicting himself or just being plain nasty, baffles me.

Ill go on a bender when he pops it....a serious one weeker.

[Blue Since 76]

He's about 6 ft but has a better jump & more body strength than Nastasic. Imo is a miles better footballer. Yet to be seen who will be the best defender. Both are very promising but neither are currently top 4 PL defenders.

We've kept 7 clean sheets this season and Nastasic has played the full game in 6 of them. If he's no good, he's lucky, and I like lucky players.

[Ted Hughes]

He's about 6 ft but has a better jump & more body strength than Nastasic. Imo is a miles better footballer. Yet to be seen who will be the best defender. Both are very promising but neither are currently top 4 PL defenders.

We've kept 7 clean sheets this season and Nastasic has played the full game in 6 of them. If he's no good, he's lucky, and I like lucky players.

He certainly is lucky, he got away with another one on Saturday with that handball. Had the ref or lino seen that, the lynch mob would be out on here now.

He's a promising player but he rarely does anything in particular, just the bread & butter stuff. That incident was a good example; Rekik sprinted back & did the defending, Nastasic was in no man's land desperately handling the ball because he had no idea who was behind him.

You see Vinny, Zabba making big tackles, headers and interceptions all the time, very rarely Nastasic. He trots around next to them & nods the occasional ball away, but didn't even do that v Reading as that blonde geezer won almost every header easily. When Lescott plays, he makes as many or more big challenges as Vinny & Zabba. Someone has to actually stop the oppo when things get tough. Nastasic hardly ever does.

[Arjan Van Schotte]

He certainly is lucky, he got away with another one on Saturday with that handball. Had the ref or lino seen that, the lynch mob would be out on here now.

He's a promising player but he rarely does anything in particular, just the bread & butter stuff. That incident was a good example; Rekik sprinted back & did the defending, Nastasic was in no man's land desperately handling the ball because he had no idea who was behind him.

fuck me, that is harsh ted. imo one of the major strengths in his game is his positioning - he doesn't have to do the flying tackles etc too much because he's often in exactly the right place.

and the incident you're talking about - yes the handball was silly. but positionally he was spot on - kolo fucked up and nasty was across to cover as best he could, and that meant going towards the near post. exactly where he was.

[Ted Hughes]

He certainly is lucky, he got away with another one on Saturday with that handball. Had the ref or lino seen that, the lynch mob would be out on here now.

He's a promising player but he rarely does anything in particular, just the bread & butter stuff. That incident was a good example; Rekik sprinted back & did the defending, Nastasic was in no man's land desperately handling the ball because he had no idea who was behind him.

fuck me, that is harsh ted. imo one of the major strengths in his game is his positioning - he doesn't have to do the flying tackles etc too much because he's often in exactly the right place.

and the incident you're talking about - yes the handball was silly. but positionally he was spot on - kolo fucked up and nasty was across to cover as best he could, and that meant going towards the near post. exactly where he was.

He had to go into that area but he shouldn't have needed to handle the ball & did so because he wasn't aware of who was around him.

I don't think he does any real defending, hardly ever, in any area, v anybody. If it's a nice easy header at the halfway line, he often wins it. If it's contested, he never ever wins it. He doesn't win anything at corners, If it's a tight 1v1 in the box, he gets skinned quite often, even when it seems as if there's no way the oppo player can get past him, they still do. He doesn't track runners, just plays offside & if that goes wrong; it's not his problem.

He follows Mancini's instructions in the defensive shape quite well but but basically doesn't defend, just sweeps up. The bloke next to him always ends up doing the actual defending. Nastasic just takes up positions.

Unlike Savic though, he has the basics to work on.

Edit: just to add, I think he'll end up 3rd choice then leave, not as the worldbeater people say, but I'd be delighted to be wrong.

[Alioune DVToure]

I thought he did very well. Good positional awareness, strong in the tackle and economical in possession.

Nothing more to add. Pleased.

[kinkylola]

rekik kept his game simple ... don't think he is a left back by trade, and definitely not of the flying/attacking variety that we might be used to with gael or kola. Thought he was solid, nothing spectacular, and that's good in my book. I'll be interested to see if he gets a full appearance at CB at some point, as he looks very mature for his age, same for Nastasic.

I don't think we need to go overboard with praise for either of the players and I don't think we've seen anything spectacular from either, but I think that's a good thing in a way. Let them break into the team comfortably, without too much expected of either of them, and see what kind of players they develop into.

I'm really intrigued that bobby has thrown so much nastasic's way so soon, but he must see something. To his credit, he's done well for himself and Ted really is nitpicking a lot on his performances ... but I think in a way that is a nod to the way that people pick apart Lescott, who really hasn't done too much wrong to be dropped.

[Swales4ever]

Totally agree with Arjan: a great positional sense sometimes can make look simple what ain't that granted.
Far away from a finished article, Nasti features great positional sense and a decent intelligence of the game, particularly when considering his green age.

mind: Ted ain't harsh, let alone blind, he's living one of his moment of boredom ...:-)
Crowed Christmas fixtures shall help to recover

[Ted Hughes]

Totally agree with Arjan: a great positional sense sometimes can make look simple what ain't that granted.
Far away from a finished article, Nasti features great positional sense and a decent intelligence of the game, particularly when considering his green age.

mind: Ted ain't harsh, let alone blind, he's living one of his moment of boredom ...:-)
Crowed Christmas fixtures shall help to recover

I've said that his positioning is very good. He just rarely covers for anyone else when they fuck up, like they do for him, wins any important headers, tracks runners when the offside trap is looking dodgy, tackles anyone or stops 1v1s.

Imo, that's what defenders are for.

At the moment, he is getting away with stuff by others covering or simply being allowed to escape criticism for mistakes because of his age, such as his absolutely pathetic attempt to stop Rooney from scoring. It was criminally awful technically & pretty gutless but nobody even mentioned it

Johnny Evans currently makes more crucial tackles & headers than Nastasic does & would probably have blocked that move.

[Dameerto]

You've taken a dislike to him for some reason. He does far more right than wrong, that's called being human (or being a successful human anyway). Until the Japs invent us a few robot players he will do very nicely.

[Ted Hughes]

You've taken a dislike to him for some reason. He does far more right than wrong, that's called being human (or being a successful human anyway). Until the Japs invent us a few robot players he will do very nicely.

I don't dislike him, I think he could turn out to be a decent PL cb. I just don't think he's anywhere even close to being a top 4 defender at this time & I don't think he's doing very much at all. He's just 'there'.

Any team that attacks us causes him problems & I worry he will get found out & cost us the title.